looking so grown up...

it was time for a haircut on friday.

i just can't get over how big our little guy is getting.

here's the before...

...and the after.

visiting uncle ryan...

max and i headed to visit uncle ryan, hayden, and grace last week.

this picture clearly captures the chaos that ensued during the few hours that we were there...

the boys opted for a "picnic" on the floor in hayden's room.

boy these two are trouble together.  they have so much fun together!!!!

and then there is sweet little gracie.

we had so much fun hanging out, eating puffs, playing with toys, and watching the boys run wild.

i can't get over the fact that she is standing on her own and soon on her way to walking.

if this isn't proof of a good visit...i don't know what is! :)

surprise...

i managed to throw a surprise get together for drew's birthday.  it was a crazy day.  one of his friends was supposed to take him to a movie to get him out of the house but he got called into work.  so, i managed to come up with a few excuses to attempt to cover my tracks.

the food was for a meeting at work the next day, the decorations were hidden in max's bathroom, and i baked the cake while he was out running errands.  people just started showing up at the house to visit, eat some food, have a drink and celebrate with the birthday boy.

happy birthday to my wonderful husband.  max and i hope we were able to make it a memorable one!

just some silliness...

just some random pictures and some silliness...

spring has definitely NOT sprung around here yet.

but we are trying to soak up the sunshine whenever we can.

we got the outdoor furniture (and might i add that it snowed that night!) and max thought he should grab his tools and "fix" everything.  thanks for your help buddy!

look at the new habit max has picked up!

he's now taking showers.  i kinda can't handle it...he's getting too big, too fast!

we were running errands the other day and he wanted my attention.  

he wanted to show me his "ninja jewels!" 

crazy kid!

just goofing around.

he has been doing a lot of coloring these days.

he wanted me to know this one was for me and wrote "mom" on it...all by himself!

and we were rooting for the wolverines in the championship game...but this little cute guy wasn't enough to lead the team to victory.

augusta adventures...

we had an awesome breakfast at the hotel and then decided to head to augusta to explore with grammi and grampa ken.

augusta is the town where drew's grandparents grew up.

we went to this really neat amish store.  there was SO MUCH to look at.

i thought this was a pretty amazing sign.

we got a few little things for the house.  

it was fun to just explore the store and look around at everything!

we enjoyed lunch at a little diner,

cupcakes from the local bakery,

and an hour and a half long nap on the way home.

an unexpected and unfortunate but fun and relaxing getaway.

daddy's birthday and a trip to eau claire...

max and i woke up and quietly snuck downstairs so daddy could sleep in.

max was concerned that we didn't have any decorations for daddy's birthday...so he made these.

we woke daddy up with coffee and then started to get ready for our day and our trip.

drew's great aunt passed away and when the funeral was planned on the same day as his birthday, max and i decided to go along so that we could spend the day with him.

we dropped the vibe off for some repairs and then stopped for birthday bagels!

we packed our bags, loaded up in the car, and headed to eau claire.

we stopped in stevens point for lunch at the wooden chair.

the waitress asked max what he wanted to drink and mentioned hot chocolate...well, that's all it took.  thumbs up for hot chocolate for lunch!

another 2 hours in the car and we reached our hotel.

i dropped the boys off and ran "an errand" to pick up the cake i had ordered for drew for his birthday.

i figured it would be easier than trying to sneak one in the car.

we headed next door to share the cake with drew's family.

everyone headed to augusta for the service and max and i stayed back.

max is such a sensitive guy...we weren't ready for him to be around all those tears and have to start answering questions about death.

instead max and i headed out on a date.  

we went to dinner at the milwaukee burger house and it was yummy!

he was a bit crazy...

so i ordered one of these! :)

max was a little bit excited to go swimming...can you tell?

this kid loves the water and has no fear.

that's not good for a momma who is anxious around water.

so, he and i talked and we decided we've gotta get him signed up for swimming lessons soon! :)

the crew got back around 9 so we visited for a bit.

we headed up to the room around 10 and max could not settle down.

i think i actually fell asleep before he did. :)

red robin early birthday dinner...

we decided to head to dinner with the stachowiaks before they headed for their trip to michigan.

we figured we'd throw in a little surprise drew...so we wanted to go somewhere that they sing happy birthday.  red robin it was.  our little pirate was excited!

(just wanted to note that he's taken to accessorizing lately...hats, ties, superhero masks...it's pretty entertaining and pretty awesome.  

teddy and drew posed for a quick photo before they chowed down!

and our almost birthday boy was unsuspecting of what would happen next.

the red robin employees showed up with balloons, an ice cream sundae, and their voices...ready to sing.

happy early birthday...we love you!

easter day...

on easter day, after the excitement of the basket wore off, we got ready for church.

look at this little stud muffin!

i told him i wanted to get a picture of him all dressed up.

the following poses were all him!

gotta love him!

(these adorable pictures make up for the fact that i totally forgot to get one of our family)

after church, we headed home to hang out and relax.

drew had a gig, so he headed out and we headed to grama's house for easter dinner.

hayden and max were very excited to see each other.  they went hunting for the baskets that the easter bunny left for them at grama's house.  they were most excited about the butterfly nets.  obviously, the decided to play power rangers.  makes sense right?  butterfly nets=power rangers

max played right along, even though he's never seen the show.

then i heard it...silence.  the silence was followed by giggles, so i knew something was up.

the giggles were coming from grama's bathroom.  i was worried.

but, this is what i found....

...the two of them, in the dark, in the bathroom, crouched behind grama's toilet.

max said they were in their cave.  i asked if they wanted the light on.  max's answer was "yes." because then they wouldn't see any ghost-es.  perfect.  silly boys.

we enjoyed another delicious meal prepared by grama.  and i'll end with a shot of me and my boy...just to prove i was actually there.